Building A Retail Business From The Ground Up (Literally)

You often hear the expression of building a business from the ground up. Usually, this refers to when you start with nothing and create a business idea that blossoms into a successful company. But, when it comes to starting a retail business, it may actually benefit you too – literally – build your business from the ground up.

What on earth does this mean? Essentially, I’m talking about actually physically building your retail business. Instead of renting or buying retail space, why don’t you purchase some land, and construct your business right there? Of course, there are many things to consider, and plenty of pros and cons.

Top Things To Consider

If you’re going ahead with this idea, then you need to know some of the key things to think about.

Firstly; finding the land itself. Now, this can be easy or difficult, depending on where you look. There are loads of places with empty land just sitting there waiting to be snapped up. The key is finding land in sought after locations that make a good site for a business.

Next; construction. When you buy the land, you have to think about the whole construction process. You’ll need to find many suppliers and contractors to help you out, from crane manufacturers to electricians – you’ll be on the phone to everyone. Think about how much it costs to construct your new retail store, and how long it will take.

Finally; marketing. While all the construction is going on, you need to work overtime to market and promote your business. The last thing you want is your shop to open, with absolutely nobody keen to enter. While your contractors work on the construction, you work on the marketing.

Pros & Cons Of This Idea

Naturally, there are plenty of positive and negative points to think about here.

Pros:

No rent, meaning fewer monthly overheads

No limit on how big your store can be

Bigger store means more products, which potentially means more sales before re-stocking

Gives your business a huge reputation boost as you look like an industry giant

If the business goes bust, you can always rent out the store to another company and still make money

Cons:

Very expensive to build a store from scratch

Very time consuming as well, which means you could potentially miss out on months of business during the construction

Might not find land in a good enough location

Is this a good idea for everyone? No, clearly not! But, it feels as though money is the main obstacle to get around. If you have the money to invest in some land and build a business on it, then why not? There are pros, and the fact you own the building and the land means you have a contingency plan in place if your business sucks. Now, you don’t have to completely start a business from scratch like this either. You can grow a small business in the conventional sense, then expand it by doing this and building a new store yourself. This is a smart idea as you can keep the old store open during construction, meaning you don’t miss out on business!

At the end of the day, it’s just an idea. If you feel like doing things differently, and taking full control of your retail business, then give it a thought.